February 5, 2008
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running the numbers
About a year ago, I read an ad about Visa Extras, which essentially involves connecting your debit/credit card number to Visa’s site and accruing points according to your purchase amount. You get tons of silly bonuses depending on the amount of money you spend and amass a ridiculous amount of points relatively shortly. Your username is your debit card number, so it’s hard to forget as long as you have your card nearby. Sounds excellent, right?
I spent a pretty good amount of money on my last (Visa Extras linked) debit card, but when I moved, I decided to cut ties with my devil bank (they know who they are – we have fought in two languages!) and cut up my card because it seemed like a dramatic but wonderful gesture (and a cool picture, too).
Anyway, I’m curious to see if I have amassed enough points for a European excursion (200,000 points) or a $100 Amazon gift card (40,000) and I can’t remember the number on my chopped card, which is probably living in a luxurious New Jersey dump right now.
SIDE STORY: According to my mom, my fiveish-year-old precocious self sang a made up song while we were out one day – when she listened more carefully, she realized that I was singing her Visa number for everyone to enjoy.
So now, I’ve been racking my brain and playing with number combinations in my head to see if I can come up with it – so far, no luck. I’m positive that I’ve got the last eight digits right (checked receipts!) and I know two more, but that leaves four very annoying digits that are taunting me. Apparently my level 31 numberz pwnage peaked seventeen years ago.
What should I do? This is multiple choice for your convenience.
a) suck it up and forget it – this is free stuff and not worth it
b) think harder and figure out the other numbers
c) send a pleading email to Visa that they won’t return (like a certain website I still haven’t heard back from yet)MORAL OF THE STORY: Write down your card numbers somewhere safe just in case.
[The More You Know! logo]
Comments (25)
that’s cute about you singing the numbers… and:
a) you will NOT forget it. this is a clinging leech that will not die. it will wait until you’re soaking in a tub relaxing, then jump up and make you pay attention again…
b) best choice
c) call customer service and ask them to send you a replacement card but don’t tell them what you did. they should simply send a duplicate.
I know my Visa number and Driver license numbers just in case….
I love the story of you singing the visa number!
@seedsower - i know mine, too – but i have two debit cards (one bank back home and one here) and only know the one – whoops
I agree with Tendervoid. We too accrue points for various membership….I use an amazon affinity card and earn gift certificates, my DH is a Priority Club member and has racked up a crazy total of points. We spent 5 nights in Minneapolis, 2 rooms at a Holiday Inn Express, all covered by his points…and we didn’t make much of a dent in the total. Good Luck with your memory search
try hypnosis… i hear it’s great for remembering impossible things.
i have had run-in’s with visa as well–by the power of greyskull! ARGHH!–, but i root for you to collect , and make visa pay. it is the same idea with rebates, companies offer them but they know (and wish) that ppl do not end up around collecting on it.
if you call them and provide your social security number and mother’s maiden name/pw, they should issue a new card. some CSR wont know your history with the card and should be able to provide a number without rubbing it in saying, “didnt u defiantly leave us?” *sneer*. anyhow, they should have that old number on file regardless. that never goes away and is always on file.
the way i see it, you jumped through the hoops, you might as well see if you can get SWAG (minus that WA) out of it.
i bet u anything tho, the points expire due to inactivity… like stupid coke rewards. what a waste of time for peanuts!!! never again. g’luck and keep us updated!
I photocopied everything in my wallet in case it got stolen, and it would help in this situation, too, I guess. That makes me feel better.
I’d either try to remember it or call/email them ti find out what it was. Good luck.
1. (b) & (c)
2. told you that website wouldn’t write back.
3. five year olds are amazing.
You could contact your old devil bank… I am sure they would have the number on file. If its the last four numbers you can’t find… ,maybe you have an old reciept lying around, maybe from a flight purchase or car rental or large appliance. lol They sometimes print the last four. Good luck!
well first off, did you happen to log into the site on a computer that may have saved your information? if you have, it could be a simple mouseclick away. also if you use firefox, there is a saved username / password thing if you had saved it when entering.
alternately giving a call to visa seems to have better results. sometimes you will get lucky and one of the CSRs will actually be helpful.
oh and did you ever notice how the points look so astronomical, but really just equate to so little? like zomg 40000 = $100. great. a hundred freaking bucks after i bought 10k worth of stuff.
You think you have accumulated 200,000 points (or even 40,000) in a year? They must pay well at Xanga. By the way, if you know 10 of your numbers, then you need 6 more digits, not 4. If it helps, I believe visa cards always start with the number 4.
@jamanix - hahaha, I know I haven’t accumulated that many! That’s sort of the eventual goal – I have about 14k on my one account right now (bonuses typically go anywhere from 50-750 points, so it’s not like I’m spending that much money). And yep, I remember 8 digits for sure, but I also know that Visas start with 4 and that there’s also a 6 in there, so that leaves me with 10 known digits and six unknowns.
@lyricsninja - i know, right? but saying you have accrued so many points (which ultimately won’t lead to much) still makes you sound pretty sweet. Having 40,000 of anything to your name sounds pretty impressive (unless you are talking about dust mites or cockroaches)
c… but i’d call them untill you get someone on the phone who can help.
oh well. i guess you could call them. 3487 3401278 341029837584752 3419048 2456
56807065435 60854640 684361084 365481991 003571620.
XD
i can’t bring myself to chop up my card. im thinking of freezing it. like literally. freeze it into a block of ice and so i’ll still have it for emergencies but it’ll have to be extremely worth it for me to unfreeze the damn thing.
you must have been a real joy to have around as a 5 year old. like those kids on the chewy bar comercials who yell out embarrassing things about their parents. i was the same way.
i say call the devil bank and see if they will provide you with the information, but if they cant, then try to forget about it. i always find the thing i am looking for only after i stop looking/don’t need it anymore. (gotta love the irony there.)
good luck.
@Natalia - Here’s another thought… I believe that with most bank issued debit cards (at least at my bank), the first 4 digits are identical so if you know someone else with a card from that bank, then you should have a pretty good guess as to your first 4 digits.
Yeah, my first 4 digits match other people with cards from my bank. The Wikipedia article on credit card numbers says that the first 6 are sometimes used as the bank identification number… so you might be able to jank those from someone else with a debit card from that bank? If that’s the case, then you would only have to guess 100 times. Or! Ask the most Photoshop-proficient person you know to extract the numbers from that photo of the cut up card. I know the numbers are hidden, but Photoshop is pretty magic.
(Good luck! I will be sad for you if you have missed out on free stuff.)
SO! Whatdid you end up doing? Huh! huh!!!
@applesaucepenguin - didn’t even think of Wikipedia! I knew there had to be something online that would work better than googling “most chase debit cards begin with 4___”. photoshop isn’t a bad idea, either. GOOD ADVICE, A+++ FOR YOU
You must have been one fun 5 yr old.
Good luck with it all. I hate companies that won’t ever respond.
Do you have any past statements or receipts? Accounts online that have the old card number on it? I know that when I use (which hasn’t been in a while) Half.com or BN.com, I have my card info on there and can retrieve it. Also, so you closed your bank account from the bank? If you did not, you can always order a replacement card. I just did this — they don’t give you a new number, just a new card with the old number, but if you already closed it, then I guess the previous methods of finding a card number will have to suffice.
@Meunonomo - I’ve heard of people suggesting that, but I’ve never heard of anyone “literally” doing so. :::grins:::